Golf hole marker



April 1969 J. R. GERAM 3,436,077

GOLF HOLE MARKER Filed Sept. 29, 1967 Sheet of 2 F ig. 1

James R. Geram INVENTOR.

A TTOR/VE Y Awill 1969 J. R. GERAM 3,436,077

GOLF HOLE MARKER Filed Sept. 29, 1967 Sheet 8 of 2 James R, Geram 1 NVENTOR.

BY @M/Wz ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,436,077 GOLF HOLE MARKER James R. Geram, 4020 Lynn Ora Drive, Pensacola, Fla. 32504 Filed Sept. 29, 1967, Ser. No. 671,862

Int. Cl. A63b 57/00 US. Cl. 273-34 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The disclosure relates to a golf hole marker which is useful for marking golf holes in practice putting greens and which has a movable standard for the hole identification component of the market, the standard being shiftable in the hole liner or cup so as to facilitate the entry of the golf ball into the liner. The marker has a base component which is supported on the floor or base portion of the cup and the base component can be withdrawn from the liner when the marker is removed. This base component of the marker supports an assembly that includes the standard and is connected to the assembly in a manner such that the assembly can be shoved or moved laterally of the medial axis of the liner by the ball as it enters the opening in the cup. The assembly has a support for the standard which rests and is slidably on an upper face of the base component and a retainer that loosely connects the base component and the assembly is also provided. The retainer permits the assembly to move laterially of the medial axis of the liner when the need arises and also permits the standard to tilt on the face of the base.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION :The invention relates to a golf hole marker and more particularly to golf hole markers for practice putting greens.

Liners or cups for golf holes have a cylindrical side wall portion that lines the vertical earth side of the golf hole and also have a base portion which is provided with a socket for the standard or staff of the hole marker. The standard U.S.G.A. golf hole has a 4% inch diameter and the sandard diameter for golf balls is 1.680 inches. The standard of most markers is usually less than of an inch in diameter, and this permits the ball to enter the cup or liner even though the marker has not been removed from the hole.

Practice putting greens are common and, in line with the objective of improving the players putting ability, it is desirable to employ holes that are of lesser diameter than for the U.S.G.A. specifications so as to provide a smaller target for the player and thus to force greater precision upon the player in his practice putting endeavors.

In most cases the holes for the practice putting greens are marked in the manner similar to those of the standard holes, as by a marker having a standard that fits at its lower end in a suitable socket in the base portion of the hole liner and which is provided to support the staff in an upright position that is coaxial with the medial axis of the hole and of the liner. As thus supported, the standard is restrained from lateral movement in the hole, and this of course means that if a marker is employed for the hole, and the standard U.S.G.A. ball is used for practice purposes, the entrance way to the hole is obstructed by the marker unless the stalf is removed from the hole before the practice putt is made. Such removal of the standard before the putt is made, is frequently undesirable in practice endeavors and hence with the smaller diameter cups there is a need for a marker which can be left in the liner and yet permit the ball to be received in the practice hole.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A general object of the invention is to provide improved markers for golf holes.

One object is to provide a marker which can be used for marking holes in practice putting greens and which can be used in marking holes that are of a lesser diameter than the current standard U.S.G.A. specifications for actual tournament play.

One further object of the invention is to provide improved means for marking golf holes and which permits the use of a marker standard having a size which but for the invention would obstruct the entrance to the cup for standard balls.

Yet another object is to provide an improved means for marking golf holes in practice putting greens and which avoids a need for removing the marker from the hole unit the ball or balls are recovered from the hole even though in the normal position for the marker, the marker would obstruct the entrance way to the hole.

A further object is to provide a hole marker for golf practice putting greens which can be used with various different types of golf hole liners having a socket for a flag staff or the like and which during removal from the hole serves as a recovery aid in removing the ball from the cup.

Other objects for the invention will be apparent from the more detailed disclosure which follows herein.

The principles of the invention may be embodied in markers used for marking golf holes conforming to U.S.G.A. specifications but principal utility under current U.S.G.A. regulations is found in embodiments designal for marking practice holes that have lesser diametric dimensions.

In according with the invention, the marker is provided with a base component which is supported on the floor or base portion of the hole liner when the marker is in use. This component is removed from the liner when the marker is removed from the hole and is connected to the lower end of the marker standard by means of a retainer which is secured to the base component and cooperates with a standard support that rests and is slidable within limits on the upper face of the base component. The arrangement of the standard support and retainer are such that the standard can tilt and shift toward the side of the linear through contact with the ball when the spacing between the standard and the liner at the opening for the ball is insufiicient at the approach side for the ball to permit the ball to enter the cup opening. The arrangement is most useful when the size of the hole and of the standard are such as to render the spacing between the standard and liner insufficient to the entry of the ball into the liner.

One aspect of the invention resides in providing a retainer at the base of the marker which permits the standard to shift as previously mentioned and which also enables the marker to be used as an aid in recovering the ball from the hole by providing a support for the balls in the hole and during removal of the marker from the hole so that balls are recovered simply by removing the marker. Yet another aspect of the invention resides in providing a component at the lower end of the marker which has an element that fits in the socket for the more commonly used markers and which serves to stabilize the marker in the liner against tipping into a position at which the turf adjacent the hole is damaged by an encounter with the standard.

Other aspects of the invention will appear in the detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention which is shown in the accompanying drawings.

3 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The drawings accompanying this invention show a preferred embodiment of the invention and also illustrate the use and functional aspects of the marker.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a typical hole in a practice putting green and which is lined with a golf putting cup or liner of conventional construction and marked by a marker embodying the concepts of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a somewhat enlarged top plan view of the hole liner and of the means used in loosely connecting the standard to the base component of the marker, the view being generally along the lines 22 of FIG. 1 and showing the standard of the marker in transverse section.

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the marker and hole liner or cup as seen in section along the lines 3-3 of FIG. 2, the view being somewhat enlarged over that of FIG. 2 and showing in broken lines how the standard shifts positions on the base component of the marker as a golf ball enters the cup with the marker standard in an initial position that is coaxial with the medial axis of the liner and hole.

FIG. 4 is a transverse horizontal sectional view through the cup as generally seen along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 3 and shows on a somewhat reduced scale and in top plan view the meansused in supporting the standard of the marker on the upper face of the base component thereof.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the cup on a reduced scale as generally seen along the lines 5-5 of FIG. 3 with parts broken away to expose the bottom face of the base component of the marker.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the base component of the marker and of a fragment of the standard component at the lower end of the marker and shows the support for the standard partly in broken lines, and the retainer used in interconnecting the standard and base components.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the liner shown in FIG. 1 with parts broken away and shows in an exploded arrangement, the base component and certain elements of the means used in loosely connecting the standard and the base component.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Reference is now made to the drawings and wherein a practice putting hole marker for a practice putting green 10 is designated generally at 11 in FIG. 1. The marker 11 is shown in FIG. 1 in a position for marking the fifth hole 12 of a practice putting green 10 and the hole is lined with a golf cup or hole liner designated at 13.

The cup or liner 13 is of a type which is commonly in use today and has a hollow cylindrical member which forms a side wall 14 that supports the turf 15 at the sides of the cyindrical hole 12. The axis of the cylindrical side wall coincides with the medial axis of the liner 13 and these axes are vertically disposed and in coaxial relation to the medial axis 17 of the hole 12 when the liner is in place as seen in FIG. 3. The lower end of the liner 13 has a base or floor portion 25 which is integral with the side wall portion 14, and the base 25 has a hub 16 which is coaxial with the medial axis 17 of the hole in the green as seen in FIG. 3. The hub portion of the base 25 is provided with a socket 18 for receiving the lower end of the standard of a conventional hole marker. The hub 16 is fixed at the center of the liner by four radially extending webs 19 that are integral with the hub and side wall portion of the liner in the liner illustrated. The upper edges of the webs slope downwardly and inwardly from the cylindrical side wall portion toward the medial axis 17 of the liner. These webs 19 support and are integrally connected to an inclined annular flange 20 that surrounds the opening 21 into the socket. At the side wall, the webs 19 also support and are integral with another inclined annular flange 22. The spaces between the flanges 4 20 and 22 and the adjacent webs 19 enable rain water that enters the cup 13 through the opening 23 at the upper end of the liner to pass through the base portion 25 and thence through the bottom opening 24 of the cup to thereat be absorbed in the ground therebelow the hole. The edge defining the circular opening 23 at the upper end of the liner is downset from the rim 48 of the hole 12 and the opening 23, of course, provides an entrance way for receiving balls that are putted into the cup.

Now the hole marker 11 forming the subject matter of the invention has a base component 30 which can be inserted and withdrawn from the cup 13 through the upper opening 23. This base component 30 is loosely connected in the assembled marker to an assembly 53 which includes an elongated standard 31 or staff and a circular support 36 for the standard which provides a means for supporting the standard upright on the base component 30. The circular support 36 is shown in the form of a flat circular disc-like element which is slida-bly movable on the upper face 38 of the component 30, and the elongated rod-like standard is rigidly secured to and movable with the disc 36. The Whole assembly 53 is adapted to rest on the upper face 38 of the base component 30 when the marker is disposed in the liner 13 and the upper end of the standard 31 is equipped with an integral hole identifying means designated at 52. The loose connection between the assembly 53 and the base component 30 is provided in the illustrated embodiment by means of retainer assembly 32 which is rigidly secured to the base component 30 and serves to loosely retain the circular support 36 for the standard at the face 36 of base 25.

The base component 30' of the marker rests on the floor or base portion 25 of the hole liner 13 when the marker is disposed in the hole 12, and has a fiat circular plate portion 33. Plate 33 has a cylindrical depending boss or protuberance 34 which fits in the socket 18 and aids in centering the plate 33 in the liner and in a coaxial arrangement with the axis of the liner. The boss and plate 33 are integrally joined and the latter is strengthened latrally of the boss by a plurality of underlying radially extending rods 35 which are integral with the plate and boss in the cast metal base component illustrated in the embodiment shown. The lower edges of the ribs 35 incline downwardly from the perimeter of the circular plate 33 and the component 30 rests on the inclined flanges 20 and 22 of the liner base 25 through contact therewith by the ribs 35 when the marker is disposed in the liner.

The retainer assembly 32- includes a flat circular plate '37 which is offset and spaced above the upper face 38 of the base plate 33 by an annular spacing ring 39. The plate 37 is rigidly secured to the base component 30 by three screw type fasteners which extend through the plate 37 and spacer 39 and are threaded at their lower ends in the plate portion 33 of the marker base 30 as seen in FIGS. 3 and 6.

The plate component 37 of the retainer assembly 32 has a circular hole or opening 41 which is arranged coaxial with the axis 17 of the hole and liner in the green when the component 30 is disposed in the liner.

The circular standard support 36 is housed in the space 43 between plate 37 and plate '33 and the lower end of the standard 31 is threaded in a central opening in the disc-like element 36 in rigidly securing the support to the standard 31. The standard 31 is supported upright on the face 38 of plate 33 by the support 36 and as thus supported extends through the opening 41 in plate 37 and through the opening 23 in the liner thereabove. The opening 41 in plate 37 has a smaller diameter than that of the circular disc 36 to prevent withdrawal of the plate from the space 43 between the space plates 33 and 37. The upper surface of the circular plate 33 of component 30 provides a flat horizontal face 38 on which the assembly 53 is supported when the marker is in use, and as the assembly 53 is seen in the solid line position 45 in FIG. 3, the standard is arranged coaxial with the axis of the liner and hole. The assembly 53 however can be moved laterally of and about the medial axis 17 of the hole on the face 38 of plate 33 and can thus assume positions laterally of the axis 17 and at which the standard 31 is supported upright by the disc 36 and in parallel with the axis 17 such as illustrated by the upright position indicated at 46.

When the assembly 53 is moved from one upright position to another, the disc 36, of course, is caused to slide over the face 38 of plate 33, and the arrangement of the retainer 32 is such as to enable the assembly to shift positions on plate 33 between the limits afforded through contact of the standard 31 laterally of the axis 17 with the edge 44 defining the hole 41 in the retainer plate 37. The size of the standard 31 at the opening 23 in the liner is such in the illustrated embodiment as to obstruct the entrance way for the ball 49 when the standard 31 is in the position indicated at 53, and the circular edge 44 in plate 37 is adapted and arranged to limit the lateral movement of the assembly to admit the ball through the opening 23. The annular spacer 39 surrounds the disc 36 in the retainer assembly 32 but is, of course, sufficiently offset laterally of the standard supporting element 36 to accommodate the limited lateral movements of the disc 36 in the space 43 between plates 33 and 37.

The spacing between plates 33 and 37 and the thickness of the disc 36, are such that the assembly 53 can be tilted on the face 38 of the assembly supporting component as indicated by the tilted position for the assembly 53 indicated at 47 in FIG. 3. This type of arrangement is provided for two reasons, the first so that dirt and other foreign matter that may find its way into the space 43 between plates 33 and 37 will be less likely to become wedged between the circular support 36 for the standard 31 and one of the adjacent plates to thus interfere with the movement of the disc in space 43. Secondly, the arrangement permits the standard to tip and provide an opening of sufficient size to accommodate the ball at the entrance way into the cup under a force which would normally be less than that needed to move the assembly to a lateral upright position. For example, the well executed putt is one which normally causes the ball to approach the hole at the speed just sufficient for the ball to fall over the rim 48 at the approach side of the hole. There is very little inertia tending to move the entire assembly 53 to the lateral position indicated at 46 and hence the ball 49, as it starts to drop in the cup, may become wedged between the rim 48 and the standard 31 when the assembly is in the position indicated at 4'5 and unable to tilt. On the other hand, by permitting the assembly '53 to tilt on the face 38, the weight of the ball when it assumes the position indicated at 49 provides a moment of force against the standard which is sufiicient to tilt the assembly to the tilted position indicated a 47, and with the assembly in this position 47, the ball is capable of falling to the position indicated at 50 and whereat the resistance to the gravitational force on the ball is reduced and the moment of force exerted on the standard 31 is sufficient to cause the standard to shift to the lateral position indicated at 46 as the ball moves downwardly to the plate supported position indicated at 51. The spacing between plates 33 and 37 is slightly greater than the thickness of the standard carrying disc 36 so as to permit the assembly 53 to be tiltable on the face '38. Plate 37, however, is so arranged as to limit the tilting of the assembly and is encountered by the upper edge of the circular support element 36 for the standard 31 when the limit is reached.

In practicing the invention, it is preferable that the standard 31 assume an upright vertical arrangement on the support component 30 when the marker is placed in the cup by the player and without the need for further orientation by the player. Consequently, in the preferred arrangement of the parts of the marker, the diameter of the disc 36 and the spacing between the disc 36 and the disc retaining plate 37 are such that when the assembly 53 is tilted to the limit provided by the arrangement, as shown at 47, the center of gravity for the assembly nevertheless remains over the disc 36 and inside the lower edge 54 serving as the fulcrum during such tilting movement. With this arrangement the asembly 53 orients itself and falls back to the upright position without aid from the player. The means for loosely connecting the base component 3t and assembly 53 illustrated is preferred because it is simple and easy to manufacture and assemble. Other means for loosely connecting the standard and support component will, however, readily occur to those skilled in the art. In the main the connector provided has a standard carrying element 26 that is supported on the base component 30 and which retains the staff in an upright position under normal marking conditions but which is slidable within limits on the support component 30 to permit the standard to be moved by a ball to a position at which the ball can enter the cup. In the preferred practice of the invention, the connector has a retainer, such as plate 37, for retaining the slidable standard carrying element at the face of the support component 30 and which permits the standard to tilt from the upright position but preferably only to a position at which the assembly will again return to the upright position by itself and under the normal gravitational forces operating on the assembly.

Balls that have been putted into the hole 12 come to rest on and are supported in the cup on the plate portion 37 of the retainer 32. By withdrawing the marker 11 from the hole 12 the balls are lifted on the retainer plate 37 to the surface of the green and whereat they can be picked up by the player. The plate 37 thus provides a support for the balls as they are removed from the hole and the arrangement accordingly serves to aid the player in recovering the balls from the hole.

The plate portion 33 of component 30, as well as the spacer ring 39 and plate 37, are shown as having diameters which are slightly less than the inside diameter of the cup so that the marker can be readily removed from the hole. The pocket fitting boss 34 serves to prevent the base component from moving laterally in the liner and also aids in preventing the marker from being tipped to a position at which the standard 31 can contact and thus damage the turf at the rim of the hole and is especially desirable when the dimensions of the base component are sufficiently less than the diameter of the liner to maintain adequate orientation of the base component in the liner. Although use of a socket fitting boss is dtsirable in the preferred practice of the invention the boss may be omitted if desired.

Standard 31 is shown in FIG. 1 as equipped at its upper end with a hole identifying component 52 that is shown in the form of a diamond shaped element housing the identifying numeral 5 and in the illustration the component 52 is cast integral with the standard 31 of assembly 53. A simple flag or other identification means may of course. be used in lieu of the hole identifying component 52 shown in the illustration.

While only a certain preferredd embodiment of this invention has been shown and described by way of illustration, many modifications will occur to those skilled in the art and it is, therefore, desired that it is be understood that it is intended in the appended claims to cover all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed as new and what it is desired to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. The combination with a golf hole liner having a base portion and a medial axis of a hole marker comprising a base component resting in the liner on the base portion thereof and having an upper face, an assembly resting on said upper face including an elongated standard, and support means secured to and supporting said standard upright and in parallel with the medial axis, and retainer means secured to said base component; said assembly being laterally movable on said face with respect to the medial axis, and said retainer means being adapted and arranged to retain said support means at said face and to limit the lateral movement of the assembly there- 2. The combination in accord with claim 1 wherein said assembly is tiltable on said face, and wherein said retainer means is adapted and arranged to limit the tilting of said assembly on said face.

3. The combination in accord with claim 1 wherein said assembly is tiltable on said face, wherein said retainer means is adapted and arranged to limit the tilting of said assembly on said face, wherein said base portion has a socket, and wherein said base component has a depending boss disposed in said socket.

4. The combination in accord with claim 1 wherein said liner has an opening for receiving a golf ball thereinto, wherein said standard extends through said opening and is adapted to obstruct the entrance of a golf ball into said said liner through said opening when arranged in coaxial relation with respect to said medial axis, wherein said assembly is tiltable on said face, and wherein said retainer means is adapted and arranged to limit the tilting of said assembly on said face.

5. The combination in accord with claim 1 wherein said liner has an opening for receiving a golf ball thereinto, wherein said standard extends through said opening and is adapted to obstruct the entrance of a golf ball into said liner through said opening when arranged in coaxial relation with respect to said medial axis, wherein said assembly is tiltable on said face, wherein said retainer means is adapted and arranged to limit the tilting of said assembly on said face, wherein said base portion has a socket, and wherein said base component has a depending boss disposed in said socket.

6. The combination with a practice green golf hole liner having a cylindrical wall portion and a base portion of a hole marker comprising a base component resting in the liner on the base portion thereof and having a flat upper face, an assembly resting on said upper face including an elongated standard, and circular support means resting on said upper face and support said standard up right and in coaxial relation to the axis of said cylindrical wall portion, and retainer means rigidly secured to said base component; said assembly being slidable on said face laterally of and around the axis of said cylindrical wall portion, and said retainer means being adapted and arranged to retain said support means at said face and having a circular opening in coaxial relation to the axis of said cylindrical wall portion, said standard being secured to and movable with said support means and extending upwardly therefrom through said circular opening in said retainer means, and said retainer means being adapted and arranged to limit the lateral movement of the assembly on said face.

7. The combination in accord with claim 1 wherein said assembly is tiltable on said face, and wherein said retainer means. is adapted and arranged to limit the tilting of said assembly on said face.

8. The combination in accord with claim 1 wherein said base portion has a socket, wherein said base component has a depending boss disposed in said socket, wherein said base component is removable from the liner, and wherein said retainer means is adapted and arranged to support a golf ball in the liner and during the removal of the marker base component from the liner.

9. The combination in accord with claim 1 wherein said liner has an opening providing an entrance way for receiving a golf ball into the liner, wherein said standard extends through the opening providing said entrance way and is adapted to obstruct the entrance of a golf ball into 15 said liner when supported upright and in coaxial relation to said axis; wherein said assembly is tiltable on said face, wherein said retainer means is adapted and arranged to limit the tilting of said assembly on said face, wherein said base portion has a socket, and wherein said base component has a depending boss disposed in said socket.

10. The combination of a practice green golf hole liner and a marker for the hole; said hole liner comprising a cylindrical wall portion having a vertical axis and defining an opening at its upper end for receiving a golf ball thereat, and a base portion at the lower end of said wall portion having a socket; said marker comprising a base component disposed in said liner and resting on said base portion; an assembly supported on said base portion, and retainer means secured to said base component; said base 30 component including a circular plate having a flat upper face arranged horizontally and in coaxial relation to said axis, and a boss disposed in said socket; said assembly comprising a circular element resting and slidably movable on said face, an elongated standard secured to and supported upright and in coaxial relation to said axis by said element, said standard having hole identifying means at the upper end thereof; and said retainer means comprising plate means spacedly above said circular element having an opening for the extension of the standard there- 4 through, annular spacer means surroundingly disposed laterally of said element between said circular plate and said plate means, and means securing said plate means and spacer means to said circular plate.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,057,928 4/1913 Briggs 287129 1,676,954 7/1928 Kannemann 27334 1,829,283 10/1931 Kip 27334 50 2,684,245 7/1954 Jacoby 27334 2,685,469 8/1954 Butler et al 287-129 3,240,183 3/1966 Walter et al. 116173 LOUIS J. CAPOZI, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

